Loving People know When to Let Go

Life is a journey, and we can end up in many different places. We all have different starting points, and we can use many different routes and connection to get to our destination.

In our Christian lives, our subway map is the Bible. It tells us at what junctures we need to make which decisions.

On our journey we have many fellow-travelers. Some of them will join us for just a few stops, while others may be with us for an extended part of the journey.

Once you are on a train, it may be hard to get off. “Mind The Gap” symbolizes the fear we oftentimes feel to change, even if it is change for the better.

However hard it is, we need to be able to let go of some of our fellow travelers.

o John 13:36 (NIV): Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

o Some of our beloved fellow travelers will choose a connection we cannot or choose not to take. In some cases they choose a better path than we do, but we haven’t realized it yet. And in other cases, we fear that the path they are choosing leads to great suffering, but it is nevertheless the path of their choosing.

o And in some cases, we have a hard time letting go because we simply need to be needed. It gives us fulfillment to have others rely on us, even if that relationship limits the growth and independence of the other.

“Partir, c’est mourir un peu” (To leave is to die a little bit): when a loving relationship prompts you to let go, something inside you dies. You leave part of yourself and your soul with the person who will no longer be in your life. Who in his right mind will make this happen on purpose? It is even more unbelievable that God sent his son Jesus to die.

Jesus died on the cross to close the gap for us between the route that leads to death, and the route that leads to life. He is our map, our guide, and our Orca card.